"
"Be that as it may, the defunct made his appearance, safe and sound,
that same day, whilst the cutter stood out to sea with every vestige
of the cage except the dead tigers. Shortly after, the widow was
astonished to see an army of coolies marching in procession towards
her door, all, like the slaves of Aladdin, heavily laden; and she was
not awakened from her surprise till the master of the ceremonies had
placed the following letter in her hands:
"Madam,--With this you will receive seventeen fall-grown tigers, which
I have had the honour of shooting for you.
"Marmaduke Travers."
"That was a choice bijou for a lady," said Jack.
[Illustration]
"Yes," added Fritz; "and if the ladies of Coromandel have stands in
their drawing-rooms, to display the tributes to their charms, Sir
Marmaduke's present afforded abundant material for adorning those of
the widow."
"Well, the consequence was, that Sir Marmaduke's name rung from one
end of India to the other. The feat of killing, single-handed,
seventeen tigers, converted him into a hero of the first magnitude. No
festival was complete without him, he was courted by the fashionables
and worshipped by the mob; some enthusiasts even proposed to erect a
tomb for him, that being the way they honor their great men in eastern
nations."
"Every country," remarked Fritz, "has its own peculiarities in this
respect.
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